What Should Be Adequate PRP Dose for an Effective Treatment? An In-Vitro Experimental Study on the Skin
Abstract Background The clinical results of many studies on platelet-rich plasma (PRP) differ because there is a lack of standardization in PRP preparation and administration, as well as many variables such as PRP preparation methods, platelet concentration, and platelet activation. Objectives The aim of this study was to investigate a different variable that will affect PRP application results. How much PRP should be injected into the unit area of tissue for an effective PRP treatment? Methods The study was performed on fresh surplus tissues of 20 patients that were discarded in abdominoplasty and mammoplasty operations. 9 areas that were 4cm 2 in size were marked on the skin. Fluorescein-stained PRP was injected intradermally by using 3 different gauge needles and 3 different doses (0.01, 0.03, and 0.05 ml). After injections, spreads of the fluorescent dye-covered areas in horizontal and vertical planes were measured and compared. For the horizontal plane measurements, the dye spread was measured, first from the surface of skin and a second measurement was done from the dermal surface of skin. In addition, the width and depth of the dye spread in the dermis were measured from vertical sections. Results Changing the needle diameter does not affect the width or depth (thickness) of the PRP spread in the dermis. Increasing the applied dose to 0.03 ml increases the spread to the width and depth (thickness). Conclusions In research for evaluating the effectiveness of PRP treatments, it is necessary to report the volume of PRP to be applied per unit tissue.